Modern business environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Modern business environment - Essay Example Diversity has thus to be absorbed within the areas of recruitment , legislation and brand equity. Many academics and business professionals have insisted that many that many organizations fail to perceive the relationship between diversity and performance and diversity issues should now be incorporated into the employee training routine. The advantages of diversity cannot be emphasised upon enough because a well planned diversity initiative can bring many positive results to an organization like improved recruiting and retention. A well planned diversity initiative will focus on the core competencies which should underline the diversity initiative. Diversity management thus has to focus upon gaining the knowledge and abilities through its labour force to enable the organization to meet its long time objectives. Diversity would thus also ensure that instead of a bored "affirmative action" plan there is an emphasis on recruitment of the most qualified people, and continuing professional development of the current employees. 2-The text talks about how the Internet has "revolutionized recruitment practice" (Cascio, 2006). Discuss some of the advantages the Internet has provided regarding recruiting. Next, turn to the darker side of the Internet's impact on recruiting and discuss some of the disadvantages/problems with using the Internet as a primary tool in recruiting (20 pts). Internet is famously known as "the network of networks" and has enormously impacted every facet of the society particularly the perception of job applications and work performance. The modern employee is no longer bound to apply through newspaper Advertisements and Xerox a bundle of documents for each application. The modern recruiter has his cell phone, lap top, palm pilot, and of course the Internet and email at his disposal to look for the best. Recruitment Services use on-line screening, and web-based hiring initiatives like the popular Monster Job search and Bright Spyre.This has led to a heavy reliance on online recruitment and manual systems are already out of the way as Recruiters are able to post job openings and job seekers can apply with electronic copies of their resumes. This is very advantageous because Applicants can be screened quickly and efficiently for their skills, abilities and work history Internet will allow the recruiter to conduct key-word searches and quickly cross reference resume information with their specific requirements. The modern candidate is able to apply from the comfort of his own house and find out about his chances of employment in good time. Online recruiting has its cost effectiveness as it cuts down postage fees for the applicant as well as the costs of the recruiter. Newspaper based advertisements can be very expensive and can not be available for more than a few days. The internet gives a chance for global/universal access to people from all walks of life and diverse and a chance to access jobs and resources beyond geographical boundaries with electronic applications. Online recruiting

Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan - Essay Example "Blowin' in the Wind" was a fantastic piece of talent for the era. The song puts forward questions of moral principles on the earth at the time, warfare, coercion, privileges, etc. The first stanza of the song "How many roads must a man walk down Before you can call him a man" raises the matter, that how difficult it becomes to get respect. It is fundamentally a protest song, which talks about the protesters of the era and how much they suffered to get heard. The poem also mentions about a white dove sailing seas. The dove is considered as a widespread mark for peace. Dylan uses it to show people's anxiety and unrest and their search of peace in that era of war. He compares this situation with a white dove flying around to find a peaceful and safe place. The symbol dove as used in the poem may also be viewed as a biblical reference. Dylan asks even the most tragic and painful questions beautifully as he asked "How many times must the cannon balls fly /Before they're ever banned." Thi s line translates his concern for the people who died or may die due to the war and when would it be ceased forever. In the next few lines he answers his question and declares that the answer can't be seen but it can be observed. He thinks that society can evaluate the answer it is in the surroundings (i.e., in the blowing wind). The second stanza begins with the words "How many times must a man look up /Before he can see the sky" Dylan asks that how much time it would take for men to find out that war doesn't worth the loss countless lives. Dylan goes on with the rhyme of the poem and writes "How many ears must one man have / before he can hear people cry" one more biblical reference can be observed in this line, in Isaiah 6:9 it is stated that those who refuse Jesus Christ will fundamentally be deaf to the humanity but if they get Jesus and unbolt their heart then they shall hears. Isaiah replies to this by stating "Lord, how long" It is about the similar query Dylan inquires about in "Blowin' in the Wind". After this line of the song there is an evident anti-war speech. The losses of soldiers in Vietnam were increasing and the protesters merely wished for a pullout of troops to protect lives. And once again Dylan follows the same rhyme by declaring that the answers are blowing in the wind. The last verse begins with the wordings "How many years can a mountain exist /before it's washed to sea" This is a symbol that entails if the world keeps on fighting and participates in wars; just how extensive will it be until we have ruined ourselves The replication of nearly each verse opening with "how many" pushes the urgency of change on the readers. A further reason for this is to illustrate how exhausted his generation was of the Vietnam War. "How many years can some people exist /before they're allowed to be free" is one more anti-war metaphor. Dylan is declaring that people being sent away to take part in the war and not be able to do what one selects has gone on for very long. The line that tracks this is "How many times can a man turn his head /Pretending he doesn't see" which is yet again an pacifist line. This means that the governments do not pay any attention to the dangers and

Has The Federal Emergency Response Improved 9 11 Criminology Essay

Has The Federal Emergency Response Improved 9 11 Criminology Essay The United States is confronted by many kinds of emergencies every day, emergencies which require prompt actions from emergency responders. These responders may come from different parts of the same local authorities or may come from other authorities. They may come from State or Federal agencies. Nevertheless, despite having come from different authorities and agencies, they need to effectively communicate and work together to get their desired results. The failures of the Federal government during the 9/11 attack serves as an awakening call to all. The 9/11 attack which has struck the whole country emphasizes that there is a need to continuously improve incident management. The history of Federal response procedures indicates that Federal planning concentrates too much on how Federal agencies communicate to one another during such emergencies. However, it did not completely concentrate on incorporating the different levels of government to manage incidents. It did not plan on appro priate working relationships prior to, subsequent to, and all throughout the crisis. Subsequent to the 9/11 attack, endeavoring to provide better incident responses, incident management principles must be revisited to develop a better response framework. This paper will provide a review on how the Federal Response Framework was implemented during the 9/11 attack. In doing so, the paper will explore the history of Federal response procedures, the Federal response to terrorism and the National Response Framework. This paper will also discuss the lessons learned from the 9/11 attack and the improvements made since the terrorist attack. History of Federal Response Procedures The current National Response Framework is a product of a long history of natural and man-made disasters, where existing response procedures were revisited and reassessed consequently following a disaster. The federal governments role in emergency response dates back following the event in 1802 when a Portsmouth, New Hampshire was raged by a large uncontrolled fire. Immediately in 1803, the federal government launched the federal role with The Congressional Act of 1803 (Foster, 2005). A century followed characterized by many natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, to which the federal government attended to. During the 1960s to the early 1970s, United States faced massive disasters which required major federal response and recovery operations. Thus, legislation were increased to address the concerns that natural disasters bring forth, such as the National Flood Insurance Act in 1968 and the Disaster Relief Act in 1974, to name a few (FEMA, 2009). At this point, however, emergency response procedures were still fragmented. There were more than a hundred federal agencies involved in providing assistance to state to local governments in the event of a disaster. Moreover, many programs and policies within the state and local level were too similar resulting to redundancy as well as compounding the complexity of the federal governments efforts in responding to disasters. The National Governors Association considered cutting the number of agencies to which the state and local government needed to coordinate with. They approached President Jimmy Carter to centralize federal emergency functions (Foster, 2005). With an attempt to improve and streamline federal emergency functions, President Carter signed an Executive Order that created the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA became responsible for coordinat[ing] the federal governments role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror (FEMA, 2009). In 1988, the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act was passed, which launched a system wherein a Presidential disaster declaration of an emergency prompted federal financial and material assistance to be released to state and local governments. This act became known as the Federal Response Plan and FEMA has t he primary responsibility of coordinating at least 25 government and non-government agencies. The first few years of FEMA emphasized the complexity of emergency management as FEMA faced many unusual disasters and emergencies such as the contamination of Love Canal, Cuban refugee crisis and disaster at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant (FEMA, 2009). Other disasters it faced were the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992. When James Witt became the new FEMA director in 1993, Witt instigated reforms within the agency that reorganized disaster relief and recovery operations to an all-hazards model to make it more efficient, emphasizing on preparedness and mitigation and customer service. After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, Homeland Security Act of 2002 was passed, which required the consolidation of existing federal government emergency response plans into a single, coordinated national response plan (U.S. Congress, Cited from Lindsay, 2008, p. 3). The act also created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) merging at least 20 agencies into a single department, including FEMA. FEMA, despite being under DHS, still maintained its authority to administer the provisions of the Stafford Act as well as its designation as the forefront agency for the countrys response plan. In December 2004, DHS issued a successor to the Federal Response Plan, entitled the National Response Plan (NRP). The NRP attempts to incorporate all levels of government in a common incident management framework (US Government Printing Office, 2009). Implemented during Hurricane Katrina, the NRP still proved to be inadequate. Nine months after Katrinas landfall, several changes were made to the NRP, which integrated the preliminary lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. In 2008, DHS published the National Response Framework (NRF) as a guide to how the nation conducts emergency and disaster responses. The NRF replaces the 2004 NRP and revised 2006 NRP (US Government Printing Office, 2009). Federal Response to Terrorism Responding to a terrorist act, whether it involves a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear agent or weapon, entails a wide array of complexities to state and local responders. The current system requires that local police, fire and emergency personnel first respond to the disaster (Haddow, Bullock Coppola, 2006). If the incident overpowers the capabilities of the local responders, they may turn to the state government for assistance and when it becomes too immense for the local and state responders, eventually, they turn to the federal government for assistance. Accordingly, federal agencies may assist through deployment of various teams (GAO, 2000). Figure 1: Relationship between crisis management and consequence management (Larson and Peters, 2001, p. 258) The Federal Response Plan and Terrorism Incident Annex states that the Terrorism Incident Annex endeavors to improve the nations ability to respond rapidly and decisively to terrorism directed against Americans wherever it occurs, arrest or defeat the perpetrators using all appropriate instruments against the sponsoring organizations and governments, and provide recovery relief to victims, as permitted by law (Larson Peters, 2001, p. 259) The Terrorism Incident Annex visualizes a possible flow from crisis management activities to consequence management (See figure 1). Larson and Peters (2001) indicated that the difference between crisis management and consequence management is that crisis management involves measures to identify, acquire, and plan the use of resources needed to anticipate, prevent, and/or resolve a threat or act of terrorism whereas consequence management, on the other hand, includes measures to protect public health and safety, restore essential government services , and provide emergency relief to governments, businesses, and individuals affected by the consequences of terrorism (Larson Peters, 2001, p. 257). National Response Framework Effective March 22, 2008, the National Response Framework superseded the National Response Plan. The NRF lays out the guiding principles which facilitate all response associates to prepare for and provide an integrated emergency response towards disasters and other emergencies. It institutes an all-inclusive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic incident response. The NRF defines the key principles, roles and structures that systematize how the country responds as one nation. The NRF is built upon the National Incident Management System (NIMS) which provides a standard command and management structure that directly applies to response activities. Accordingly, this system presents a reliable, national template that allows Federal, State, tribal and local governments as well as the private sector and NGOs to collaborate in the preparation, prevention, response, recovery and mitigation of the effects of the incidents regardless of its size, cause, location and/or complexity (US Go vernment Printing Office, 2009). This NRF is needed by, and incorporates under, the larger National Strategy for Homeland Security or Strategy which serves to lead, systematize and unite the countrys homeland security efforts. This strategy mirrors an improved understanding of the threats and challenges facing the United States. It integrates the different lessons learned from exercises and actual disasters. In addition, it expresses how our nation can ensure enduring success through strengthening homeland security. Furthermore, it presents a general framework through which the entire nation should direct its homeland security efforts in achieving the following goals: Prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks. Protect the American people and our critical infrastructure and key resources. Respond to and recover from incidents that do occur. Continue to strengthen the foundation to ensure our long-term success (US Government Printing Office, 2009, p. 12). The NRF is primarily concerned with the third goal which aims to respond to and recover from incidents that do occur. The Strategy necessitates an NRF that facilitates the strengthening of the foundation built for an effective national response, which swiftly evaluate rising incidents, take preliminary actions, develop operations as needed and instigate recovery actions in stabilizing the area. Furthermore, the Strategy also necessitates that the NRF be clearly written, easy to understand and designed to encompass a national scope as it meets the needs of State, local, and tribal governments and the private sector and NGOs, as well as the Federal Government. The Framework is designed to answer and support the Strategy, which must work together impeccably to national, State, tribal, and local preparedness activities. The 9/11 Attack and Emergency Procedures Implemented According to the 9/11 Commission Report (2004), the emergency response at the Pentagon was, in general, effective. The response constituted a combination of local, state and federal jurisdictions. The Arlington County Fire Department served as the incident commander, for obvious reasons on the nature of the event, whereas other agencies involved had different roles. The Department of Justice, on the other hand, became the lead federal agency in charge. Moreover, Arlington County and all bordering and surrounding jurisdictions became involved one way or another during the response procedure. The series of events of the terrorist attack started around 9:37 am when the west wall of the Pentagon was hit by a hijacked American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757. Immediately, the building and the airplane was damaged, killing all 64 people in the plane and 125 people inside the Pentagon. Additionally, there were six people also seriously injured and mobilized to area hospitals. The 9/11 Commission Report justifies the success of the emergency response for three reasons. Firstly, emergency responders were able to build strong professional relationships with one another. Secondly, the Incident Command System was appropriately implemented. And lastly, there was a pursuit of a regional approach to response. Accordingly, many of the fire and police agencies involved had extensive previous experience when it came to collaborating on regional events and training exercises (The 9/11 Commission Report, 2004). Several local, regional, state and federal agencies immediately responded to the incident. Along with the county fire, police and sheriffs departments, there was the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Fire Department, Fort Myer Fire Department, the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the FBI, FEMA, National Medical Response Team, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and a number of military personnel from the Military District of Washington. Arlington County Emergency Communications Center also communicated with other fire departments from Fairfax County, Alexandria and the District of Columbia for further assistance with the incident. By 9:41, command was already established and the incident command post has already presented a clear picture of the crash site and how to access it. By 9:55, there was an evacuation order of the Pentagon by the incident commander because of the preliminary assessment of a collapse of the building. By 9:57, the building partially collapsed; nevertheless, no first responders were injured. By 10:15, the incident commander ordered a full evacuation of the command post because of warning that another hijacked plane is fast-approaching to the site. The 9/11 Commission Report (2004) noted that the evacuation order was well communicated and well coordinated. In fact, the 9/11 Commission Report stated that a vast number of civilians below the impact zone were able to evacuate the towers. This evacuation was facilitated significantly by the amendments made by the Port Authority in response to the 1993 bombing as well as the training of both Authority personnel and civilians after that incident. The stairwells of unaffected floors remained lighted, whereas other stairwells had glow strips to the handrails and stairs. General evacuation time was approximately less than one hour on September 11 for those who were not trapped or suffering physical disabilities, compared to almost four hours during the 1993 bombing. Nevertheless, there were many problems that arose from the incident. Challenges to which are considered as failures and lessons learned during the 9/11 attack are outlined in the succeeding section: The Challenge of Incident Command The Incident Commander is responsible for the management of the Citys response to emergency; If the incident is so multifaceted that no one agency immediately stands out as the Incident Commander, OEM will assign the role of Incident Commander to an agency as the situation demands (The 9/11 Commission Report, 2004, p. 319). To some extent, the Mayors directive for incident command was implemented during the incident response as the FDNY became the lead response agency during the incident. However, the problem was that response operations lacked the type of integrated communications and unified command contemplated in the directive. According to one of the experiences of the first responders to the 9/11 attack, Almost all aspects of communication continue to be problematic, from initial notification to tactical operations. Cellular telephones were of little valueà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Radio channels were initially oversaturatedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pagers seemed to be the most reliable means of notification when available and used, but most firefighters are not issued pagers (The 9/11 Commission Report, 2004, p. 314). Command and Control within First Responder Agencies In any kind of unified incident management system, all participants must possess command and control over its own units and sufficient internal communications. However, during the 9/11 incident, first responder agencies lacked command and control over its own unit and adequate internal communications. FDNY, for example, lacked the experience in responding to an incident like the 9/11 terrorist attack. FDNY was incompetent in organizing the number of units dispatch within the complex (The 9/11 Commission Report, 2004). This may be partly caused by the breakdown of internal communications wherein their radios had limited capabilities in a high-rise environment such as that of the WTC. Moreover, there was confusion over the assignation of the different frequencies to the personnel involved. Finally, the FDNY command post died down when the South Tower collapsed, compromising the departments capability to comprehend the status of the incident response. Another example is the Port Authoritys insufficient standard operating procedures and efficient radios to facilitate multiple commands to respond effectively. Many officials while under the tunnels and airports reported that they were not able to understand instructions issued. Moreover, command and control was further complicated when senior Port Authority Police officials decided to participate in frontline rescue operations (The 9/11 Commission Report, 2004). NYPD also faced some, although relatively fewer, command and control and communication issues. The department, with its extensive experience in mobilizing thousands of officers during key events necessitating crowd control, was able to adapt more easily to an immense devastating event such as that of the 9/11. However, it is unclear whether NYPD officers were fully well coordinated (The 9/11 Commission Report, 2004). Lack of Coordination and Collaboration among First Responder Agencies The Commission reported that there was insufficient comprehensive coordination between NYPD, FDNY and PAPD personnel as they ascended the towers. Information sharing became a critical issue during the 9/11 attack. FDNY officials reported their difficulties in their decision-making due to insufficient information given by the NYPD aviation. NYPD aviation, prior to the collapse of the tower, had already warned at 9:51 that large pieces from the South Tower seemed to fall, which could pose considerable danger to people below. It was only after the towers collapse where FDNY received this message due to internal breakdowns in commnication. This lack of real-time intelligence resulted to more lives lost. The lack of coordination between NYPD, FDNY and PAPD was also evident in terms of searching the complex for civilians as there was redundancy in searching specific floors and areas. Radio Communication Challenges Mentioned earlier, FDNY had significant deficiencies in terms of radio communication. Three factors attributed to the ineffectiveness of communication. First, the effectiveness of communication through the radios were significantly reduced due to the high-rise environment. Second, too many units attempted to communicate to tactical channel 1 at 10:00, overwhelming the frequency. Lastly, many firefigters were on the wrong frequency whereas others simply lacked radios in general (The 9/11 Commission Report, 2004). Protective Technologies The experiences of the first responders during the 9/11 rescue operation illustrated the significant deficit in terms of protection. The responders reported that their personal protective equipments (PPE) hindered their ability to do their jobs. Their overall PPE proved to be incapable of protecting them such that other equipments performed better than others. Head protection as well as high-visibility suits performed well, whereas protective clothing and respirators were not very effective. Protective clothing did not provide enough protection against biological and infectious disease hazards, heat from the fire and demanding physical environment. Moreover, the material used was not light and flexible enough to move through and fro confined spaces. Eye protection, although offering protection against direct impact, did not provide any protection to persistent dust at the site (Jackson, et al., 2002). Improvements since 9/11 Attack Perhaps one of the most significant improvements made since the 9/11 terrorist attack is the issue on airport security which involves preparation to mitigate the risks of terrorism. Airport security has become much tighter than ever (Dempsey, 2007). Travelling has become more secured as access has now been rigorously restricted. One can no longer go straight to the gates and fly. Passengers have to wait in long lines before one can actually go in, whether flying domestically or internationally. Appropriate documents must be presented and authenticated as well (i.e. passports, government issued IDs, and plane tickets). Aside from documents, people as well as their belongings have to undergo vigorous scrutiny and inspection through security screeners and X-ray machines. Dangerous items such as guns, knives, corkscrews and other sharp objects are no longer allowed to be brought inside the airports. Baggages are more frequently searched in random, whereas passengers are performed pat dow ns (Dempsey, 2007). Airplanes are also made more secure than ever, with their hardened cockpits and federal air marshals to ensure the safety of the passengers and guard terrorist acts. Endeavoring to identify possible terrorists and smugglers and prevent them and their baggage from entering the secured parts of the airport and the airplanes, airport officials conduct profiling of passengers. This system develops a personality profile of the traits of terrorists and smugglers and attempts to match the passengers to the profile. Once a passenger matched a certain terrorist or smuggler profile, he or she is detained and subjected to appropriate search and questioning (Dempsey, 2007). Furthermore, all passengers now undergo explosive detections through conducting profiling, visual and physical inspections and canine inspection wherein trained dogs are used in recognizing explosive vapors. Airports now also use different kinds of state-of-the-art x-ray machines and explosive-odor detection devices (Dempsey, 2007). Assessment of the Federal Response Framework after the 9/11 One of the major disasters that hit the country, subsequent to the 9/11 attack, was Hurricane Katrina during 2005. Four years after the terrorist attack of 9/11, the country was hit by a major hurricane. Despite efforts made on equipping the country to minimize the risks of terrorist plots, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina illustrated how unprepared the country still is. Federal response procedures at the time, even after the 9/11 attack still proved to be inadequate and ineffective. There was lack of preparation within all levels of government (Sellnow, Ulmer, Seeger, Littlefield, 2008). In addition, there was also a lack of coordination and collaboration among the different agencies involved in the incident (Sellnow, et al., 2008). During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA was incapable to streamlining the agencies involved and produce timely response and results (Sellnow, et al., 2008). Furthermore, there was a lack of communications and situational awareness (Sellnow, et al., 2008). Farber and Chen (2006) asserted that the problems encountered during the Hurricane Katrina response were not born and/or ended during and after Hurricane Katrina. The failures during the incident response indicate that local, state and federal government still need to work together to continuously improve the system. Conclusions The challenges of different kinds of disasters confront our country every now and then. These challenges continue to test the character and perseverance of American people. History illustrates a long line of failures in emergency management. Nevertheless, as we fail to respond appropriately towards it, we constantly learn from our mistakes and attempt to continuously improve. The 9/11 attack and Hurricane Katrina was an awakening call telling the country to be more prepared to incidents such as these. To answer whether the federal response procedures have improved since the 9/11 attack, there are certainly improvements especially in terms of securing the country from terrorist attacks. Significant changes in airport security proved to be effective in mitigating the risks of terrorism within the country. However, it should be noted that this is not enough. Further planning and training still need to be done for the country to be fully prepared.

Meaning of the River in Siddhartha Essay -- Hesse Siddhartha Essays

Meaning of the River in Siddhartha Siddhartha, in Herman Hesse's novel, Siddhartha, is a young, beautiful, and intelligent Brahmin, a member of the highest and most spiritual castes of the Hindu religion, and has studied the teachings and rituals of his religion with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Inevitably, with his tremendous yearning for the truth and desire to discover the Atman within himself he leaves his birthplace to join the Samanas. With the Samanas he seeks to release himself from the cycle of life by extreme self-denial but leaves the Samanas after three years to go to Gotama Buddha. Siddhartha is impressed by the blissful man but decides to lead his own path. He sleeps in the ferryman's hut and crosses the river where he encounters Kamala, a beautiful courtesan, who teaches him how to love. He is disgusted with himself and leaves the materialistic life and he comes to the river again. He goes to Vasudeva, the ferryman he met the first time crossing the river. They become great friends an d both listen and learn from the river. He sees Kamala again but unfortunately, she dies and leaves little Siddhartha with the ferrymen. He now experience for the first time in his life true love. His son runs away and Siddhartha follows him but he realizes he cannot bring him back. He learns from the river that time does not exist, everything is united, and the way to peace is through love. Siddhartha undergoes an archetypal quest to achieve spiritual transcendence. During his journey, he both embraces and rejects asceticism and materialism only to ultimately achieve philosophical wisdom "by the river". When Siddhartha is ... ...n, and all of the enjoyments and lavishes. He becomes entrapped in Samsara, the physical world, characterized by repeated cycles of birth, but finally breaks out of it after twenty years and returns to the river. At the river he joins the simple life of Vasudeva, according to Carl Yung would be considered the wise old man archetype, and for the next twenty years he listens and learns from the river. The river is no longer the divider between the material and spiritual worlds but now it symbolizes a unity in which past, present, and future, all people and their experiences, all features of life flow together. Siddhartha comes to realize that there is no conflict between the spiritual and the material, that all human occurrences are to be accepted, and that the only difference between the ordinary people and the sages is that the sages understand this unity.

Creative Art and Fine Art Essay

By a broad definition of art,[9] artistic works have existed for almost as long as humankind: from early pre-historic art to contemporary art; however, some theories restrict the concept to modern Western societies. [10] The first and broadest sense of art is the one that has remained closest to the older Latin meaning, which roughly translates to â€Å"skill† or â€Å"craft. † A few examples where this meaning proves very broad include artifact, artificial, artifice, medical arts, and military arts. However, there are many other colloquial uses of the word, all with some relation to its etymology. The second and more recent sense of the word art is as an abbreviation for creative art or fine art and emerged in the early 17th century. [13] Fine art means that a skill is being used to express the artist’s creativity, or to engage the audience’s aesthetic sensibilities, or to draw the audience towards consideration of the finer things. The word art can refer to several things: a study of creative skill, a process of using the creative skill, a product of the creative skill, or the audience’s experience with the creative skill. The creative arts (art as discipline) are a collection of disciplines that produce artworks (art as objects) that are compelled by a personal drive (art as activity) and convey a message, mood, or symbolism for the viewer to interpret (art as experience). Art is something that stimulates an individual’s thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or ideas through the senses. Artworks can be explicitly made for this purpose or interpreted on the basis of images or objects. Although the application of scientific knowledge to derive a new scientific theory involves skill and results in the â€Å"creation† of something new, this represents science only and is not categorized as art. Often, if the skill is being used in a common or practical way, people will consider it a craft instead of art. Likewise, if the skill is being used in a commercial or industrial way, it may be considered commercial art instead of fine art. On the other hand, crafts and design are sometimes considered applied art. Some art followers have argued that the difference between fine art and applied art has more to do with value judgments made about the art than any clear definitional difference. [14] However, even fine art often has goals beyond pure creativity and self-expression. The purpose of works of art may be to communicate ideas, such as in politically, spiritually, or philosophically motivated art; to create a sense of beauty (seeaesthetics); to explore the nature of perception; for pleasure; or to generate strong emotions. The purpose may also be seemingly nonexistent. Art is a diverse range of human activities and the products of those activities; this article focuses primarily on the visual arts, which includes the creation of images or objects in fields including painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and other visual media. Architecture is often included as one of the visual arts; however, like the decorative arts, it involves the creation of objects where the practical considerations of use are essential—in a way that they are usually not for a painting, for example. Music, theatre, film, dance, and other performing arts, as well as literature, and other media such as interactive media are included in a broader definition of art or the arts. [1] Creative arts is a subject of study for a number of universities, including those that offer a degree of Bachelor of Creative Arts. [1] Areas of study include dramaturgy, music, graphic arts/cartooning, performing arts, film, publishing, galleries, museums, and the visual arts.

Being a Girl

Being Girl: A Sociological Memoir My first memory of kindergarten was this: dozens of tiny, petrified 5-year-olds being dropped off at their first day of school, and dozens of exhausted, overworked mothers consoling their weeping sons and daughters. I remember it vividly because, despite the terror and chaos, a single thought pervaded my mind, the thought that â€Å"these moms are not as pretty as my mom. † I wasn’t entirely biased, either. By North American standards of beauty, I was correct. Here was my mother, a rail-thin, blonde-haired, blue-eyed statuesque stunner, among a sea of frumpy women with visible wrinkles and tangles of black hair.And here I was, the daughter of this perfect specimen, the proud owner of a mother who was more â€Å"feminine†, more â€Å"womanly†, and therefore, I naively deduced, â€Å"a better mother†. In fact, although my vocabulary was fairly limited at the time, I believed her to be the epitome of all mothers. She l ooked, I told her that morning, â€Å"like a mom was supposed to look. † In interviewing my mother, she said that this was my â€Å"first brush with what it meant to be a girl. † Throughout kindergarten, I was labeled â€Å"weird†. I dug for worms, collected Pokemon cards (which was deemed a â€Å"boyish† activity), and none of my friends were girls.My teacher, a young woman who had just recently graduated from university, was often concerned for me, and thought that my lack of female friends would be detrimental to my developing of social skills, so she would often encourage the popular girls in the class to include me in their recess activities. They did as they were told, and despite my hesitation, I jumped rope with them at recess, while still managing to play with the boys for short periods of time. Finally, one day, the girls gave me an ultimatum: â€Å"us† or â€Å"them†.If I wanted to be an â€Å"official† member of their â₠¬Å"club† (This was serious business; they had membership cards made out of construction paper), I had to give up the toy trucks and the rambunctious boys. With the encouragement of my teacher, I severed ties with the boys. Although I missed them, I quickly learned that being a girl was â€Å"better† anyways. Apparently, girls were allowed to wear makeup and dresses and boys had cooties and never took baths and didn’t I like being clean? I suppose I liked being clean, but what I really liked was being accepted by this particular group of popular girls.I suppressed my love of all things â€Å"dirty†, all things that were labeled â€Å"boy†, and developed a superficial affinity for all things typically â€Å"girly†, in an attempt to fit comfortably into this group. I skipped rope at recess, I choreographed dances, and I received a ballerina outfit from my parents at Christmas that I absolutely adored. Being a girl was not very hard. It came with a list of instructions. Do this, talk like this, wear this, and you are a girl. It was less of an innate instinct than it was a learned act. I wasn’t born with an eyelash curler in hand, rather, it was handed down to me by a girl older than myself.The torch of femininity was passed down from generation to generation until it finally landed in my dirt-stained lap. In 9th grade, in a fit of rebellion against my mother, who I fought with often around this time, I cut my hair short. Not just â€Å"short†, I cut my hair boy short, a look my mother wasn’t too fond of, which, naturally, made me covet and admire it more, because nothing is as satisfying as a mother’s disapproval when you are a rebellious teenager. When I returned to school the Monday following my haircut, however, I didn’t get the positive reaction I had anticipated.No, the minute I walked into my first period class, the official â€Å"bully† of the grade, a tall, unattractive fell ow, asked me if I had become a â€Å"dyke†, and insisted on calling me â€Å"dykey† for the remainder of the day. The strange behavior of my classmates didn’t stop there. Girls I only casually talked to began avoiding me, which I learned while interviewing a friend from that time was because they were â€Å"convinced I was trying to hit on them†. Boys treated me differently as well. According to this same friend, it was because they believed I was gay.Not â€Å"lesbian†, because, for them, the word â€Å"lesbian† conjured up images of attractive girls drunkenly kissing at a house party, but gay. Gay as in homosexual, gay as in â€Å"fag†. I didn’t understand why a simple haircut had drastically changed my classmate’s opinions of me. Sure, I dressed a bit â€Å"boyish†, as I wasn’t fond of dresses and found skirts to be uncomfortable, but that was all a matter of taste, not sexuality. Wasn’t it? Besid es, I wasn’t gay. I had a boyfriend at the time. I quickly learned that being â€Å"gay† had little to do with who you liked, and more to do with what you did.The â€Å"last straw†, the event that acted as a catalyst, the one that prompted me to conform to what it meant to be a â€Å"girl†, occurred the day I accompanied my sister to our high school’s uniform shop to buy her a blazer. My hair was still cropped short at the time. I wore long, baggy jeans, no makeup, and an oversized band t-shirt. Upon walking up to the cash register, the lady behind the counter turned to my sister and blurted out, innocently, â€Å"Oh, is this your brother? † I was too embarrassed to correct her, and instead gazed at her awkwardly until she realized her mistake.After a moment of tense silence, it dawned on her. â€Å"Oh! haha, silly me, I meant sister,† she swallowed nervously, embarrassed. I honestly didn’t really mind being confused for a boy, but this lady was intent on defending my womanly honor. â€Å"I’m really, really sorry. You know, when I was young, I had short hair for while, and tons of people thought I was a boy. It was so embarrassing. † Surprisingly, her short anecdote did not make me feel better. According to her, being confused for a boy was this terribly embarrassing ordeal that she carried with her all her life.She apologized profusely for the mixup, and continued to do so throughout the school year, whenever I happened to stop by the uniform shop. Through her, I learned that not adhering to strict gender rules on how one should dress caused embarrassment and humiliation, and I therefore should’ve been profoundly humiliated when the mixup occurred. When future incidents similar to this one occurred (I was confused for a boy a second time in a restaurant a few months later), I knew that I should be ashamed of myself. I had utterly failed at being feminine, so much so that I might as w ell have been a boy.Oh the horror. The fear of â€Å"not being girly enough† grew more intense with every snide remark and homophobic slur, and I soon found myself staying home on weekends, retreating to my room, my fortress, playing video games while my peers downed copious amounts of alcohol and partied, for the few months it took my hair, the symbol of my femininity, the only thing that differentiated me from a boy, to grow back. Once it did, I was quickly re-accepted into my group of peers. I was a girl, I looked like a girl, and I acted like a girl, and this seemed to please them. I â€Å"knew my place†, so to speak.Gender Roles and Sexuality While gender has both biological and neurological components, my personal experiences with gender have allowed me to see gender as more of a social construct. In terms of gender, I’m a believer in behaviorism, the psychology that emphasizes socialization over biology in creating gender identity. In my experiences, for the most part, gender was not a naturally occurring phenomenon, it was taught. My experiences mostly relate to feminist postmodernism, which, out of all the categories of feminism in relation to gender, emphasizes the influence of social constructs the most.Queer Theory, a methodology within postmodernism that was introduced by Professor Judith Butler in her book Gender Trouble, also relates to my experiences. The theory states that gender identity is not created by biology, but by â€Å"gender performance. † She argues that individuals are not distinctly â€Å"male† or â€Å"female†. Male and female were opposites on a spectrum, and most people fell somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, but â€Å"acted† more male or female depending on the situation. Growing up, I displayed different characteristics that were specific to both males and females.I was quiet, a characteristic usually attributed to girls, and I was â€Å"tough†: I occasionally pick ed fights, a characteristic usually attributed to boys. Butler’s theory that people act exclusively male or female to conform to gender expectation is completely relatable. In order to be a â€Å"girl†, I had to give up my â€Å"other half†. In my above narrative, I mentioned that, to be part of the popular girl’s posse, I had to sever ties with the boys. In this situation, I was either a â€Å"girl† or a â€Å"boy†, and I had to choose which one I wanted to be.I ultimately chose girl, although I would have much preferred if I could maintain both my male and female characteristics and qualities. Queer Theory also states that gender â€Å"performances† are restricted by sanctions (Steckley, Letts 360). We avoid acting out (or performing) in ways that conflict with gender norms because we want to avoid negative sanctions. In my experiences, negative sanctions imposed by my peers (including overt forms of bullying, being labelled a †Å"dyke†, and being rejected) fostered in me a deep-seated fear of ostracism, and I learned to conform to gender norms and roles in order to gain acceptance among my lassmates. I believe the â€Å"ideology of fag† perfectly sums up my aforementioned experiences. The ideology of fag is a set of beliefs which dictates that â€Å"if you violate a gender role, you must be gay† (Stekley, Letts 360). Prior to my ostracism, the word â€Å"gay†, to me, was a neutral word. It simply referred to homosexuality. However, in high school, â€Å"gay† became an accusation, a threat. Being a â€Å"lesbo† or a â€Å"dyke† was something immoral. It was an insult hurled at me with the utmost contempt.It became the most powerful sanction, the one that I believe played the biggest role in my gender socialization. My classmates made it clear that a â€Å"dyke† was something that I didn’t want to be, and therefore, to eliminate any traces of lesb ian-ness, I had to â€Å"become† a girl. If I was gay because I violated gender roles, because I dressed like boys and enjoyed activities that boys typically enjoyed, then all I needed to do to not be gay was to stop violating these gender roles.Gayness, in essence, was in no way related to who you were sexually attracted to; it referred to the violation of gender norms. Acting aggressive, initiating fights and being obnoxious â€Å"meant† that a girl was a lesbian. A passive, nurturing, sensitive boy was gay. This relates to Ann Oakley’s concept of gender and gender roles. Gender roles are â€Å"sets of expectations concerning behavior and attitudes that relate to being male or female† (Steckley, Letts 354). Gender roles, their enforcement, and the severity of the consequences doled out to those who reject them differ across cultures and societies.In my classroom, in my pseudo-society, there was no room for androgyny. Gender roles were rigidly enforced, and anyone who strayed from them was ridiculed and marginalized. Boys who did not assert themselves, or boys who ventured into the category of subordinate masculinity, as opposed to complicit or hegemonic, were routinely beaten, demeaned and humiliated until they â€Å"manned up†, hid their homosexuality (in most cases, however, they were not gay, simply â€Å"too sensitive†) and participated in complicit masculine practices.Girls who did not act typically feminine, sensitive and unabashedly â€Å"girlish† were marginalized as well, and although they did not suffer to the same extent that the marginalized boys did, and were not subjected to beatings, they nevertheless were severely pressured into assuming a â€Å"traditional† female gender role. Today, my hair is longer. It is blonde at times, brown at times, it is often black, but it is never short. My uniform consists of tights, shorts and skirts.I have worn pants approximately 3 times this semester, an d on each occasion it was because I was running late. I never leave the house without at least some form of makeup. I justify my sudden change in taste by reassuring myself that I have simply â€Å"grown up†. I’ve navigated away from my boyish nature in the same way that I navigated away from cartoons and cheeseburgers: It followed the natural order of things. However, despite my reassurances, the real reason behind my change is not becoming â€Å"more mature†.The truth is, I’m scared. I’ve been socialized into this gender role and I know that scrutiny is awaiting me if I ever choose to leave it. I fear breaking gender norms and being subjected to negative sanctions in the same way I fear dark alleys at night. It is a rational fear, in that it protects me from being ostracized and it satisfies a very basic human need: the need to be accepted. Work Cited Steckley, J. , and Kirby Letts, G. (2010). Elements of Sociology. Oxford University Press Canada .